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Max Watts elected Putnam County Commissioner
Within moments of being sworn in as the newest Putnam County Commissioner, Max Watts was put on notice that he was already on the job.
The result of the caucus was announced, Watts' wife Marty -- also the Putnam County Clerk -- had sworn him in, and the crowd of Republican precinct committeemen and fellow candidates had given Watts a round of applause.
Then county Republican Party chairman Jerry Ensor broke the silence.
"Well, roll up your sleeves and get to work," Ensor said, to a round of laughter.
Watts was elected early Saturday afternoon in a caucus to fill the District 2 commissioner seat vacated last month with the untimely passing of Commissioner Nancy Fogle.
The late commissioner was not far from anybody's mind on Saturday, and Watts said he knows he has big shoes to fill in replacing the woman who spent 17 years as a county councilor and commissioner.
"The key is, following up that legacy of Nancy Fogle," Watts said. "I want her family to be proud of what I can do."
Fogle's family was represented in Saturday's election, as daughter Jill Bridgewater was among the seven candidates seeking the position.
The other five candidates included current county councilmen Larry Parker and Phil Gick, along with Steve Butts, John Huber and Carolyn Nichols.
District 2 is composed of Clinton, Madison, Greencastle and Marion townships, but is elected by a countywide election, as are all three commissioners.
As such, every precinct save one had a voice in Saturday's election. One GOP precinct committee position is currently vacant, but every other was represented by either the committeeman or vice committeeman.
Ensor said he was impressed with the turnout.
"Excellent turnout," he said. "Everyone was here that should be here."
The precinct representatives also did their job efficiently, taking only two rounds of voting to whittle the pool of seven down until Watts had a majority of the 30 votes.
Upon taking the oath of office, he quickly addressed any doubts citizens may have about both he and Marty holding county office.
"My wife had talked about retiring (from the clerk's office) after 2014," Watts said. "Being in politics behind closed doors with her for 30 years, I thought I might want to get involved."
However, Max said he and Marty agreed that they didn't want to be in the political forum at the same time.
"For me, if I was so lucky to be elected, I didn't want to be in a position where a decision would affect Marty," he said.
He said while there will be a little more than a year in which they are both in office, he felt the need to step up and try his hand at the vacnt office at this time.
Watts added that he would abstain from any vote affecting the clerk's office.
The caucus comes at a busy time in county government, as county council budget hearings are only a week away.
"With budgets coming up right away, I think my concern's going to be there immediately, seeing how I can be of help with that," Watts said.
After that, it will be working with District 1 Commissioner David Berry and District 3 Commissioner Don Walton, who Watts worked with when he first got his start in masonry.
For his part, Walton said working with Watts should be a positive experience. The veteran commissioner stopped by the courthouse shortly after the caucus to congratulate the newest commissioner, about the same time Watts took a phone call from Berry.
"I look forward to working with him. He'll be a good guy to work with," Walton said. "We look forward to working with him and going over the roads and bridges in his district with him. And finishing some of the projects we got started with Nancy."
Watts' first meeting as a Putnam County Commissioner is set for 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16.